One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to a special temple that has been under construction for the past 5 years. The temple is for the beloved Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati who was the Shankaracharya in Kanchipuram from 1907 to 1994. His influence in Tamil Nadu was immense because of the purity of his dedication to the Vedas and this traditional spiritual knowledge. The temple is being built in his memory in the most traditional way; hand carved and constructed without cement.
There is on-site a group of about 150 “shilpis” who do the carving and assembling of the structure. The attention to detail is genuinely awe inspiring and already the site has a profoundly spiritual feel to it.
The pillars are mostly in place and the floor is in place although covered in sand in order to protect it. The amazing thing is that the pillars that you see above are carved (and no power tools with the exception of cranes) from a single piece of granite!
A little bit of detail work from the pillar seen above. And one more…..note the lion at the bottom.
